villainsfandomcom-20200225-history
Curtis Taylor, Jr.
Curtis Taylor, Jr. is the main antagonist of the musical Dreamgirls. He is loosely based on record producer Berry Gordy, creator of Motown records. In the film, he was portrayed by Jamie Foxx. In the original Broadway production, he was portrayed by Ben Harney. ''Dreamgirls'' Curtis begins as a conniving used-car dealer hoping to break into the music business. His first approach is to convince popular soul-singer James 'Thunder' Early to record a single on his label. He hangs around backstage during a talent show where Early will perform, hoping to get a word with him, and learns that Early's two backup singers have quit. Curtis also sees three girls - Lorrell, Deena, and Effie, the Dreamettes, enter the contest, and bribes the judge to make sure they lose. He then offers them to Early as replacement backup singers, and convinces the girls to take the chance at fame by letting him be their manager. Curtis soon comes to clash with Jimmy's manager, Marty, but Curtis promises Jimmy he can help him cross over from 'Race' music onto the mainstream Pop charts. Jimmy and the Dreamettes record a song written by Effie's brother C.C. The song is a hit, until a white group does their own cover and steals their thunder. More determined than ever to make a success, Curtis turns to payola, using bribes and mob contacts to make sure DJs only play his version of the songs. At this time, Curtis and Effie, the Dreamette's lead singer, begin a relationship. When Jimmy reaches the No. 1 spot, Marty quits, and Curtis becomes Jimmy's new manager. He books Jimmy for a gig in Miami, then realizes the crowd finds the three Dreamettes more appealing. He moves Jimmy to the background, and turns the girls into a solo act. Despite her talent, Curtis decides that Effie is too loud and not pretty enough to ensure success, so he makes the less talented Deena the lead singer. With Deena in the lead, the new group, the Dreams, is a success, but Effie begins to rebel, and the group starts quarreling. Effie begins to have violent outbursts and accuses Deena of sleeping with Curtis. Eventually, Curtis drops her from the group and replaces her with another girl. Though Effie begs him not to leave her, Curtis walks away, and is soon married to Deena. It is later revealed that Effie was pregnant with Curtis' child at this time. Seven years later, Curtis' control is affecting everyone else. Deena wants to break out of singing and be a serious actress, but Curtis refuses to let her do anything without his approval. Jimmy is frustrated with his lack of success after Curtis rebrands him as a mellow pop-singer. When Jimmy rebels on TV and does an improvised rap, Curtis fires him. And C.C. is angry at Curtis' constant rearranging of his songs to make them more "dance-able." When Curtis wants to record C.C.'s new love song as a disco, C.C. quits and finds Effie, who has started a nightclub act with Marty. C.C. offers the song to Effie, who records the song. When Curtis learns of this, the gloves come off. He tries to destroy Effie again by having the Dreams cover it, and paying DJs to play his version instead of Effie's. However, Effie, Marty and C.C. fight back. They threaten to reveal Curtis' shady dealings to the Feds if Curtis does not back down. When Deena learns of Curtis' attempt to stop Effie, she leaves him for good to start her own career. Shortly after, the Dreams break up, but reconcile as friends. Curtis is left alone, and forced to admit that he destroyed his own dreams. Trivia *Berry Gordy, who Curtis was based on, has stated that he was offended by the character for multiple reasons. He saw the character as a way of saying that black people cannot succeed without being villains, or criminals for that matter. The film also puts Motown in a bad light, as the film portrays it as if Gordy built it from conning and exploiting businesses. However, Dreamworks have since done a big apology, and Gordy has stopped criticizing it due to that. Category:Con Artists Category:Misogynists Category:Greedy Category:Charismatic Category:Movie Villains Category:Live Action Villains Category:Male Category:Fictionalized Category:Theatrical Villains Category:Affably Evil Category:Symbolic